Catching Feelings
by JutsuThief
Summary: United during preparation for the war to come, from training, to missions in gay bars, Kakashi and Iruka develop a friendship that eventually becomes something more. *SPOILERS* If you have not gotten to Naruto Ship. Season 8 yet, there are a few spoilers in here. Rated: M for content to come. If you're looking for a KakaIru fanfic that's not all fluff, look no further!
1. And It Begins

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. I am, however, a KakaIru fanatic, and have been for 6 years now.

**A/N: **I hope you enjoy the beginning of my new KakaIru fanfic, and PLEASE REVIEW with your thoughts and criticism, etc.

I plan to make this around 20 chapters long. I'll be able to tell you more once I get into the story!

This is my first serious attempt at making a multi-chapter fanfic, so please be patient with me!

Thanks for reading, and enjoy!

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_**Catching Feelings**_

_Chapter One: And It Begins._

* * *

Iruka sat at his desk at the Academy after a typical Monday of school, grading tests taken earlier that day. To his disappointment, the majority of the class had failed the test. But then again, it wasn't that much of a surprise to him. The particular class happened to be filled with troublemakers, and about two serious students; so this was the usual performance of the group.

'_At least the entire class didn't fail it,_' Iruka thought glumly, grading the last few tests without even paying attention, already knowing what every letter in the multiple choices should be by memory.

_I'll need to do something to make sure the majority of the class doesn't end up failing to become a Genin…_

Iruka sighed and propped his elbow on the desk, leaning his chin on his hand. Ever since the attack on the village, his mood seemed to be gloomy, which was not normal for the tanned Academy teacher. There was a war coming, and it made the Chuunin worried for the children and the village- _his_ village.

It was true that the attack brought everyone closer together, which was one of the few benefits of the disaster. But he was not only worried about the village. It was a particular villager that had been on his mind lately. Naruto.

The advancement of the Genin's abilities scared Iruka, although he hadn't been able to talk about it with anyone. Letting Naruto know that he was worried would be an unnecessary weight to put on the young boy's back. Being the selfless person Iruka was, he tended to never talk to anyone about issues that might burden the other.

The blonde haired boy was off training as usual, and no one had heard from him in weeks. The entire village was either working on preparing for the war or rebuilding, and little concerns such as Naruto's training didn't particularly cross anyone's mind in the process. Everyone was now calling Naruto the hero of the village, and while Iruka was happy for the boy, he was worried about the expectations he would be pressured to live up to.

Mostly all of the Jounins were being kept in the village in case of an attack, and they were trying to send out the higher ranked ninjas only when absolutely necessary. This meant that the Chuunins were getting called upon to do missions much more than usual, meaning Iruka had already been on two missions in the past month.

While that might not be a lot for the average ninja, Iruka- being an Academy teacher- hadn't previously been on a mission for at least two years. He was very out of shape, and therefore had to spend all his extra time training; not only for missions, but also for the war to one day soon come.

…

Iruka left the Academy around 6 o'clock, and went straight to where he had been going every day after he finished his Academy duties: the training grounds, or at least what used to be of them. New trees had been grown in the area thanks to the ninja who specialized in earth, and there were dummies and targets scattered across the grounds.

Usually there was a ninja or two around who would be more than willing to practice sparring. But before Iruka started fighting training, he always ran for a while. Speed was essential for a ninja, and to Iruka it was just as important as fighting. Anyway, there was no one in the training grounds at the moment, so Iruka wouldn't be able to spar even if he wanted to.

The tanned sensei set his belongings by a tree, and already sweating from the August heat, took his vest and long sleeved shirt off. Ever since he started working out a month ago, he had to admit that his body had become more defined and in shape. Sure, he was no body builder, but at least he wasn't as self-conscious as he was before.

_Not that he wasn't anymore…_

It was only a week ago that Iruka had given into the heat and started taking off his shirt when he ran- before he had been too embarrassed.

Once the Chuunin was ready, he set off in a steady jog away from the training grounds and towards the edge of the village.

Running was peaceful to him. It let him clear his mind and gave him the opportunity in his usually busy day to sort all of his thoughts out. Iruka looked out into the distance at the Hokage monuments and sighed, speeding up into a run from his jog.

The closer the war got, the more upset he was starting to get. Not only was he worried for the village and Naruto, but it also brought a very unhappy memory to the surface. The last war- and only war- he witnessed was the one where the Kyuubi killed his parents, along with many other villagers and ninjas.

Basically the entire village loved Iruka, but even then, he didn't have any friends close enough that he would talk to about all of his recent troubles. Even if he did, he wouldn't want to burden them. The only person who was ever truly close to him was dead: the 3rd Hokage, Sandaime.

And the worst part was that no one knew for certain when the war would come and where it would happen. Would his beloved village be destroyed again?

Iruka pushed those thoughts out of his head as he ran faster, halfway around his lap of the village. At the speed he was running, he returned to the training grounds in half the amount of time it took him to get to the halfway point earlier in his run.

He slowed to a stop near the tree where he left his belongings, and rummaged through his vest to pull out a metal water canister. Tilting his head back, he let the now warm- but still refreshing- contents pool into his mouth and down his throat.

It was only after he removed the metal ring from his lips that he realized he wasn't alone.

If Iruka had still been drinking his water when he realized this, he would have choked on it. But luckily he was saved from the embarrassment, and he thanked whatever God was out there that he didn't embarrass himself in front of the infamous Copy Ninja.

It wasn't unusual to not be the only one out in the training grounds, but it **was** unusual for Hatake Kakashi to be there.

When the silver haired man realized he had the Chuunin's attention, he held up a gloved hand in greeting.

"Yo."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Iruka said, trying to keep the heat from rising to his face.

_Why was it that heat was trying to rise to his face anyway?_

He didn't know why the older man got him so nervous, and although it wasn't uncommon for Iruka to blush, it wasn't usually _this _noticeable to him.

The Chuunin mentally scowled at himself. It was just _Kakashi-sensei_ for heaven's sake. Since when did he get flustered around Jounins? He dealt with them most days in the mission room, taking their mission reports and even having to make them re-write them for making them illegible. Hell, he had made Kakashi re-do his mission reports multiple times for scrawling it in illegible handwriting and drawing his descriptions instead of writing them!

Maybe that was it? Maybe his subconscious knew that Kakashi had some sort of weird revenge against him for all the times he had made the Jounin re-write his mission reports. Maybe all the Jounins had teamed up and had Kakashi come to Iruka to get revenge on him for all of the times he had made them re-write their reports, or all the times he had made them settle down and stop talking so animatedly and/or misbehaving.

Iruka visibly gulped, starting to feel even more nervous than he had before. If the infamous Copy Ninja was out to get him, how would Iruka get out of it? He couldn't! It was impossible!

_Stop being paranoid and ridiculous._

There had to be some other reason Iruka felt so nervous around the Jounin. And it wasn't because the Jounin had some sort of 'Jounin revenge' for him. He would figure it out, and if anyone knew the answer already he wouldn't object to knowing it.

Seeing the Jounin waiting expectedly for a response, the Chuunin flushed once again.

_STOP BLUSHING LIKE AN IDIOT AND SAY SOMETHING! YOU'RE AN ACADEMY TEACHER FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, SO I KNOW YOU AREN'T ONE!_

"What are you doing here?" He then realized that might have come out sounding rude, and a light blush spread across his face once again.

_REALLY? AGAIN?_

Kakashi, however, showed no visible signs of noticing the blushing. But then again, who knew what the perverted Jounin was thinking under that silver mess he called hair?

"Maa, isn't it obvious? These _are_ the training grounds aren't they?" Kakashi's single visible eye curved into his famous one-eyed smile.

"Y-yes, I suppose they are," Iruka stammered, getting upset at himself for getting so flustered for the 'who-knows-how-many'ith time.

He didn't even really like the guy, although he had to admit that he liked him more than he had in the past.

Naruto had turned out to be a great ninja due to Kakashi's guidance, and while the Jounin had put Team 7 in the Chuunin Exams rather too quickly for Iruka's liking, the team had ended up being okay and prospered from the experience.

Not to mention the most recent event where Kakashi had saved Iruka's life. If the Copy Nin hadn't have showed up when he had, Pein would have surely killed him along with a fellow ninja Iruka had been trying to help.

Seeing as Kakashi was the only one around, Iruka decided asking him to spar wouldn't hurt. Sure, the Jounin would probably kick his ass, but fighting stronger ninjas- especially ones that wouldn't kill you in the process- had its learning benefits.

_You're going to embarrass yourself…_

_Don't just stand there contemplating it, say something!_

_He's waiting…! _

"Would you like to spar?"

At Kakashi's surprised expression, Iruka fell into a stammer of embarrassed apologies.

"I'm sorry- I'm sure you have better and more important things to do than spar with a Chuunin, and-"

"Calm down, calm down- I'll spar with you," Kakashi interrupted the now flushed Chuunin, looking rather amused and holding up his hands in a calming matter. "Why else would I be in the training grounds but to train? I'm growing rather bored, being missionless all the time."

Iruka's mouth dropped open only to have it shut just as quickly as it had dropped.

_He agreed? He wanted to spar with him? _

_Wait, I wasn't planning on him saying yes! _

"Ah… Right," Iruka said, laughing off his embarrassment. "Well I just assumed you would rather have more of a challenge than me- I mean, I'm pretty out of shape as it is."

"Maa, well shockingly I have rather missed having someone to train." Kakashi smiled his one-eyed smile, though it had become less dramatically curved, making it seem more genuine. "And what good would I be providing to the village by sitting around all day reading _Icha Icha_, eh?"

At the name of the orange, and occasionally green, porn book the Jounin always had his face buried in, Iruka tried not to become the uptight teacher he could be and scold the older man for reading such perverted trash. He had almost forgotten how flustered he had been getting by becoming disgusted instead by the mention of the stupid book. _Almost._

It was with a strenuous amount of self-control that Iruka kept his mouth shut about what he wanted to say of the book. He didn't want to scare the Jounin away- who had actually been quite nice and friendly to the stupidly flustered Chuunin.

"Well as much as I hate to admit it, I do need training..." Iruka said, itching the back of his head and smiling nervously. "But I have to warn you, I'm pretty rusty. As of one month ago, my last mission was two years ago. And my performance on the two missions I've been on this past month wasn't very impressive."

The Jounin only continued to smile his one-eyed smile, and Iruka noted that it was kind of creepy how it never seemed to falter.

"Not to worry Sensei, the more fun for me!"

Iruka instantly decided the Jounin sounded **way **too happy about that statement. He gave a nervous chuckle, itching the back of his head nervously once again.

'_What am I getting myself into?_' Iruka mentally groaned.

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**A/N: **I hope you liked the first chapter! Please leave a review; your thoughts help me a lot!


	2. A Determined Chuunin

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. I do, however, want a Kakashi and Iruka plush really bad for my dorm room.

**A/N:** Here's chapter two! I have to say, I'm really excited about this series. At first I was kind of unsure where I would take it, but I've thought of a whole lot of new ideas! And I know you all are going to have to enjoy it if I'm getting so excited over just writing it! Just FYI, it's not all going to be training- that's only the very beginning of the story. A lot more exciting stuff will happen! Now that I have a good idea of what I'm going to do with this, I can tell you that it will exceed 20 chapters. I am going to try to have a new chapter out every week, but in a few weeks I'm going to college so they might take a little over a week. I will stick with this story though! I'm not one to abandon a project once I get it started! Also, the chapters will start to get longer. I don't know about you all, but these last two chapters being less than 3,000 words bugged me. It's just how they are though, and they're perfect that way.

Thanks so much for reading, and please review, follow, and/or favorite the story if you like it! If you see anything wrong, please let me know!

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_**Catching Feelings**_

_Chapter Two: A Determined Chuunin._

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The following day, Iruka sat through class in a haze, giving out worksheets for the students to complete instead of physical training or starting a new lesson. This way, he wouldn't have to do anything time consuming besides supervising them. Sure, he occasionally had to get up and scold a few select students for misbehaving or picking on the kunoichis, but not nearly as much as he would have had to if he had them actually learning something new.

The teacher wasn't being lazy. He was just simply too distracted with a mind full of jumbled thoughts to do anything more productive than the occasional scolding and handing out new worksheets.

Along with his previous thoughts and worries that were still on his mind, there were some new ones added as of the afternoon before. The main one being a certain silver-haired Jounin. Hatake Kakashi.

The training hadn't gone as bad as he thought it would, although that didn't mean it went well, and it still was pretty bad. Having his fair share of embarrassing moments, by the end of training Iruka wanted nothing more than to run home and hide under his bed in embarrassment. That, and maybe take a cold shower to cool off his face, which felt like it was scalding by the time the training was over.

The Jounin had made the Chuunin attack him until the sun had set. And that was it.

Iruka had attempted all of his best attacks that he could think of at the time on the Copy Ninja, only to feel like a weak joke in front of the older man. It was humiliating, and just the thought of his training yesterday caused a blush to spread across his face.

Looking at the clock, which read 2:56, Iruka willed it to go slower with his mind. Sadly, it didn't work, and the class was dismissed at 3:00.

With a now rather large stack of completed worksheets on his desk, Iruka immediately started grading them. While he had been embarrassed during his first training session, he didn't want to be late to the second one he had later that day at 6 o'clock. He wanted to prove to the Jounin that although he was rusty and definitely needed some shaping up, he _would_ get better.

_Why do I even care what he thinks..._

It wasn't that the older man intimidated him; which he did. Iruka just felt self-conscious around the other man, like he wanted to be the best he could for him and earn his approval.

He had no idea why he felt like he had to prove himself to the Copy Ninja, seeing as he hardly knew him. Besides scolding him and/or thanking him for turning in a good or not so good mission report, the only time Iruka had ever talked to the masked man was when he confronted him about the Chuunin Exams and when Kakashi had saved him from Pein. Maybe there had been a few other times, but if there were they were so insignificant the Academy teacher didn't even remember them.

The Sensei was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't realize he had just been sitting there for half an hour; chin in hand, absentmindedly twirling his red pen around as he mused over his thoughts.

_I'll do better today. I won't let him get bored of me. Who would be stupid enough to pass up an opportunity to be personally trained by the infamous Sharingan Kakashi?_

With a new determination to prove himself, the Chuunin's mood improved drastically and he actually hummed a happy tune while grading the large stack of poorly done worksheets.

...

Kakashi sat on a tree branch, leaning against the trunk of the tree with his orange book in hand. The tree had a perfect view of the academy and a certain window where he could clearly see a certain Chuunin. He had been hanging around the tree most of the day, having nothing better to do and interested in his new 'student'.

So far, it had been pretty uneventful. The class had only gone outside to eat lunch and have a quick break, but besides that, the class had been holed up in the classroom all day, miserably filling out multiple worksheets. The Jounin almost felt bad for the little Pre-Genins. But from what he had heard and seen in the past, he shouldn't feel bad for them. Considering they were little devils in disguise.

The only information Kakashi had deduced by watching the Chuunin was:

A.) He seemed distracted.

B.) He could be very terrifying when angry.

And C.) He daydreamed when grading work.

Kakashi mentally added that the other man's mood had become much more cheerful after the first half an hour or so of grading the worksheets the students had left on his desk when school ended.

_I wonder what changed his mood..._

The Jounin had noticed the day before how flustered the Chuunin had been getting around him, and he had to admit he thought it was cute. The normally strict Sensei who was fearless when scolding Jounins got nervous around _him_.

_Why is that...?_ Kakashi mused in his head.

He hadn't done anything to cause the other man to get so nervous around him. The only conclusion that he could think of was that Iruka had a crush on him, which was hard for him to believe. He had always thought the other man was straight as a nail, but then again, looks could be deceiving.

_I mean, look at myself... _

He was sure everyone assumed that he was straight as a nail as well, seeing as he walked around with his masked face shoved in porn all day, every day. But the truth was, Kakashi didn't really consider gender as an issue, and liked the person for who they were.

Only he hadn't been interested in anyone for a very, very long time. He had been through too much; everyone he loved tended to die, so he was afraid to love anyone. It was one reason why he adapted to his usual carefree personality. The less people he loved, the less he got hurt.

The more he watched and learned about Iruka, the more Kakashi wanted to know more about the other man. In the short time he had been observing the Chuunin, the Jounin had developed a curious interest in the other man. He wouldn't say it was a crush or anything of that matter; it was too soon for that, if that was even going to happen. Like said, he didn't do the whole 'love' thing. He just simply found the other man interesting, and quite cute and amusing when he got flustered over every little thing.

Kakashi chuckled to himself. He would have fun messing with the Academy teacher.

_..._

At 5:45 Iruka left the Academy to head towards the training grounds. He was actually in a good mood for the first time in weeks. While he was still a little nervous to train with the Jounin, he was fueled by a new determination.

He had been caught off guard the day before, but now he had composed himself and he had his mindset on training to be the best he could be. That, and not look like an idiot in front of the elite shinobi.

Arriving at the training grounds before his new teacher, Iruka started warming up by stretching. He wasn't surprised the Jounin was late. He had heard Naruto's complaints enough during the years to know that the man was _always_ late.

Iruka was leaning down to touch his toes, stretching out his hamstrings, when a rustling noise startled him back up into his standing position.

"Yo."

Iruka raised an eyebrow, surprised that the Jounin was only a few minutes late. Naruto had always said it was half an hour an minimum when they were training.

"Kakashi-sensei." Iruka greeted the other man, proud that no heat had risen to his face.

_No blushing idiot here today!_

Iruka smiled politely at the Jounin.

It was Kakashi's turn to raise an eyebrow. What had happened to the Iruka from the day before? This one wasn't a nervous wreck.

"You seem to be in a better mood today, Sensei." Kakashi cocked his head to the side in a dog-like manner. His statement was more like a question.

Iruka looked at the Jounin, in almost a studious way. Why had he been so nervous around him the day before? He actually _liked _the presence of the other man. Maybe it was just because he had been so lonely lately. Yes, he still felt a little nervous, like he needed to prove himself. But he wasn't a blushing idiot anymore.

_Thank Kami..._

"Must be the weather." Did Iruka's voice even sound happier? Had he really been so lonely that the Copy Nin's company changed his mood so much?

Maybe he really did just need a good, close friend. He didn't assume that the other man would have that role- in fact, he was sure Kakashi wasn't interested in being 'good friends' with him; he had even said he was just bored and needed the distraction. But Iruka didn't mind. Just having another person's company to rely on most days was enough for him.

Kakashi had to admit it was a little cooler than usual, but it wasn't _that _much cooler. Shrugging it off, but still interested in what really caused the other man's sudden mood change, he put his orange book in his pocket. There wouldn't be time for it anyway.

While his hand was still in his pocket, he slipped out something else in replacement for the book.

Iruka's eyes were drawn to his trainer's pocket as something silver flashed in the sun. Then he recognized what it was.

_A bell?_

It only took him a second or two to remember why a bell sounded familiar to him. It was how the Jounin passed, or didn't pass, a Genin team. Naruto had told him all about it over a bowl of ramen.

"All you have to do, Sensei, is get this bell from me." The Copy Ninja held up his gloved hand, which contained a small silver bell dangling from a string, and he proceeded to tie it onto a belt loop on his pants.

"Whenever you're ready."

Iruka instantly disappeared into the trees surrounding the training grounds. He knew that he had no chance of getting the bells by just attacking the Jounin head on; the other man's taijutsu was much better than Iruka's by far. Actually, _everything_ Kakashi knew was much better than the Academy teacher's skills.

_I'll have to rely on surprise and speed..._

Iruka was smart; he was confident in that. He had always excelled in coming up with strategies. And while the Chuunin had always been fast, he had become even faster since he started training more a month ago.

_Yes, those two things are my best strengths for sure..._

Once hidden within the canopy of the trees, Iruka sped from tree to tree, trying to throw the Jounin off of him and his location.

Holding his hands in the proper signs, Iruka said, "_Kage no Bunshin,_" under his breath.

Four clones appeared: two stopped where they were, and the rest ran ahead with their master. The real Iruka eventually slowed to a stop while the other two clones scattered into different areas.

Meanwhile, Kakashi stood listening carefully to Iruka trying to throw him off. He came to the conclusion that there were two or three clones; most likely three. Suddenly the noise of feet hitting wood came to a stop, and there wasn't a sound within earshot besides a few chirping birds.

He didn't have to wait long before two kunai flew at him from two different directions, and as he deflected them with his own kunai, a clone came out from another direction; and then another. While they were distracting Kakashi- which wouldn't last for more than a few seconds- the third clone jumped at Kakashi from the front, while the real Iruka came from behind.

As Kakashi unhinged the clone in front of him, Iruka- knowing Kakashi would immediately protect his back- teleported suddenly to Kakashi's front just as the Jounin turned to deflect his attacker who had previously been coming from behind. The Chuunin had teleported almost touching the Jounin, and he wasted no time in snatching the bell. But as soon as he touched it, Kakashi transformed into a log with a 'pop'.

_Shit!_

Iruka turned around quickly, raising his kunai just as Kakashi's flew at him, deflecting it to the ground.

The Jounin jumped at the Chuunin, attacking him head on. Iruka blocked each attack, and although the Jounin was incredibly fast, he found that he could keep up without struggling too hard. But even then, he couldn't get out of his defensive mode. The Copy Ninja relentlessly attacked him, giving him no time to change into the offensive position.

Iruka's mind raced as he continued to block each attack the other man presented him with, trying to figure out what he could do.

_Let him hit you._

As the masked ninja swung a hit at his face Iruka lowered his arm at the last second, which had previously served as a guard. Getting smacked in the side of his jaw, the Chuunin went down, but as he did he threw a kunai at the bell with the aim of someone who taught pre-ninja on a day-to-day basis.

The kunai snagged the string, sending the bell and kunai soaring over into the hands of the remaining clone he had left hidden.

A wide, almost child-like grin spread across both Irukas as Kakashi looked back and forth between them, obvious surprise expressed in his facial features. He had underestimated the Chuunin.

Seeing the childish, happy grin on both of the Irukas sent the Jounin into unexpected laughter. He couldn't stop laughing at how extremely happy and accomplished the other man looked; it was comical. And his laughter sent Iruka into a fit of laughter as well.

The clone disappeared with a 'pop' and the bell fell to the grass, and finally both their laughter died away. Kakashi, now chuckling, picked up the bell from the grass, slipping it into his pocket.

"Well done, Sensei," he said with another amused chuckle. "Well done. I must say, I'm rather impressed. I definitely underestimated your intelligence. While your taijutsu skills are at a high Chuunin level, your intelligence and strategy planning is worthy of a Jounin. As for your ninjutsu, I haven't seen that yet- besides the shadow clones- so I can't say."

That did it. Iruka blushed.

But it wasn't a nervous blush like the day before. The blush spread across his scarred nose and onto his cheeks as he continued to grin. He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed by the praise but it didn't ruin his mood. He had done it! He had proved himself worthy of the Jounin's time and training!

Iruka was so pleased with himself that he didn't even notice he was blushing- he was too happy to be bothered by such a thing.

_He complimented me! Not once, but twice! _

Iruka's mood soared, and his happiness at pleasing his teacher made him feel like a little kid again.

Kakashi watched as the tanned teacher laughed and grinned, blushing at his praise and rubbing the back of his head; he almost looked like a little kid at how proud he was for getting it. In a way, it reminded him of the younger Naruto.

_He's... Adorable..._

A genuine smile crinkled the corner of Kakashi's single visible eye as it curved upwards. He was truly enjoying training the Academy teacher, and his ever-changing moods were making the Jounin even more interested in him than he had been before.

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**A/N:** Ahh, while writing this I got so many ideas for the story! I can't wait! I really hope you all like it and will continue to like it! Please review with what you think or any criticism you have! A review, follow, and/or favorite all make my day and I get so excited when I get an email saying I got one (or more)! They're really encouraging!

Thanks for reading!


	3. Temper Tantrum

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. I did, however, get this disclaimer idea from one of my favorite KakaIru authors: DarkAuroran. If you haven't read her story _I've Got You_, you should! :)

**A/N:** Here it is! I enjoyed writing this chapter even more than the other two; and they're just going to keep getting better (at least most of the time)! It's longer, _and_ posted earlier than the date I said it would be up by! *bows*

Please review with what you thought of it, or any criticism you have!

Thanks for reading, and enjoy!

* * *

_**Catching Feelings**_

_Chapter Three: Temper Tantrum._

* * *

The next two days of Iruka's training were put to a pause due to a surprise attack on the village. It wasn't a good one- the ninjas involved were amateurs. But because of precautions, the Academy had had to evacuate and not only the children, but the villagers as well, got quite a fright from it. A few bombs had been set off around the village, but that was all they had managed to do before they were captured and questioned by the ANBU, if not killed.

During those two days, Kakashi wasn't in sight. Iruka hadn't heard from him at all, and he assumed the elite Jounin was helping protect the village in some way, which the Chuunin was perfectly okay with. The village needed all of the protecting it could get.

While Iruka looked calm and controlled during the attack, he felt the exact opposite. The Chuunin was like a time bomb waiting to explode during those two days. The attack had gotten to him by threatening his village and children, especially during such a fragile time in their lives. He had been keeping calm for the sake of the children and being strong for the village, but it wouldn't last forever.

Growing up, the Academy teacher had been known for his short- and bad- temper. Compared to then, Iruka had matured so much that mostly everyone had forgotten that he was once a very tempered, village troublemaker.

After the death of his parents, the young boy had rebelled against everyone. No one had tried to help him, and he was just a shadow among the other students.

Determined to be noticed, he got into trouble constantly and always did stupid and foolish things. When he got yelled at, his temper would flare, getting him into even more trouble. And all of these repeating situations just made his temper get worse and worse. That was until the Third Hokage reached out to him.

Sandaime gave Iruka the support a father would, and lectured him like one would as well. At first, the young boy had rejected the higher power's help, not liking it when other people pitied him. But he soon came to learn that the man had truly cared about him.

Although just because Iruka had grown out of the worst of his temper, it didn't mean he didn't have one anymore. While he had better control over it, situations like the village being attacked made it almost impossible to control. He knew holding it in always ended up making it worse, but there was no way he could let it out when the village and children needed him like they did.

By Friday, the village was safe, and Ibiki- the torture specialist- was able to determine that it was a small fire country rebel army, and nothing as serious as they thought it was.

They had information on where the army had been formed and who might be the leader of it, but they decided to leave them alone for the moment. They would be expecting Hidden Leaf Village spies trying to infiltrate them, so the Hidden Leaf would wait. When the rebel army let their guard down, spies would be sent.

…

Classes were canceled Friday due to some damage to the Academy from the bombs. Thankfully, no one had gotten seriously hurt, and the Academy's damage wouldn't be too troublesome to repair.

All of the Academy teachers and fellow volunteers got to work at sunrise Friday morning, working together to have the repairs fixed by the end of the weekend so classes could resume the coming Monday.

Iruka had been working hard the entire day, not stopping even to eat. He used to task of repairing the building to keep him distracted from the anger hiding within him. No one could even tell he was upset; he kept such a calm and controlled composure that everyone looked to him as the leader during the repair. Sandiame would be proud.

At six o'clock, they all called it a quits for the day and went out to dinner with family and friends. Iruka was invited by a few people to join them, but he politely declined the invitations with a smile on his face.

As everyone cleared out of the Academy grounds, the Chuunin headed in the opposite direction of the restaurants and main part of the village. He went to the training grounds.

When he got there, he wasn't surprised to be the only one. Everyone had been working hard all day with more repairs than usual, so who would go train after all of that? A certain Chuunin who needed to vent his anger would.

Iruka went over to a training post and started punching it as hard as he could, over and over again until his hands were to the point where they were starting to turn red and bleed a little. He didn't notice the pain starting to make his hands throb due to the tunnel vision he always got when he was having one of his 'temper tantrums'.

He punched and punched and punched, until suddenly a pale, gloved hand shot out and caught his fist as it was about to hit the wood.

It took the angered Chuunin a few seconds to process that someone had caught his hand, and then another few seconds to recognize the pale, gloved hand as Kakashi's.

"Maa Sensei, what did the post do to you to deserve this kind of treatment?" His voice was lazy and calm, but there was a hint of concern in it.

He had been watching the Chuunin for awhile, and after he had not stopped aggressively punching the post for half an hour, the Jounin had to step in. Something was obviously wrong, and he had hoped observing would give him the answers. It didn't.

After getting over the initial surprise of the Jounin being there, Iruka finally spoke, unsure of himself now that the other man had caught him off guard once again.

"What are you doing here?"

_Why did that sound familiar...?_

"I came to see if you were here for training, but I wasn't really expecting you to be after such a long day. I'm surprised you're here, actually."

Kakashi's single eye studied the Chuunin, and he tilted his head slightly as he observed him. Iruka noted that the man tended to do that when he was curious, and that it also looked strangely dog-like when he did it.

"I wasn't hungry." It was all Iruka could come up with.

He didn't want to talk to someone he barely knew about his problems, and he definitely didn't want the unsuspecting man to get the wrath of his temper accidentally. Feeling like Kakashi could see right through him from his studious and intense gaze, he averted his eyes from the Jounin, looking off at some interesting blades of grass.

Kakashi noticed that Iruka was hiding something. It wasn't that hard to figure out. But why did he want to know what that something was so badly?

"Well then, how about you spar with me instead of the post? I'm sure your hands didn't do anything to you either." His voice was almost carefree; like he didn't want to make Iruka think he was prying or getting into his personal space. If the Chuunin thought that, he would probably retreat and find some other way to get his obvious anger out.

Iruka stared at the Jounin, eying him as if trying to see his intentions. He couldn't pick anything up from the man to give him away. Iruka vaguely thought that it was weird how Kakashi could act so carefree, but then he picked up on a very small hint of feeling coming from the other man. But surely it wasn't true- Iruka was imagining things. Kakashi didn't care about him.

"Sure. I'll spar." Iruka pushed the thought of Kakashi caring out of his head; it just pissed him off even more knowing that the other man didn't care. No one truly, really cared. Except maybe Naruto, but that was different.

Sweating from his previous activity with the post, Iruka took off his vest. He felt too awkward to take off his shirt around the Jounin.

Kakashi mimicked the younger man's action.

"Ready when you are, Sensei."

_Why did Kakashi calling him Sensei make him feel like it was a dirty word?_

He wasted no time in attacking the Copy Ninja. It was like he was fearless with his rage.

The Chuunin punched and kicked, constantly attacking, and the Jounin blocked the attacks with just as much consistency.

Each hit Kakashi blocked was filled with anger- he could feel it. It was raw and powerful. It wasn't in control, and it was going to get Iruka hurt.

After a couple more minutes of blocking the rage-filled hits, Kakashi had had enough of it. Stepping forward in a quick movement, his leg snaked behind Iruka's and his hands grabbed his shoulders, pulling the body forward as his leg pushed into the back of Iruka's lower leg.

The Chuunin was on his back in an instant, and the Jounin was kneeling on top of him, restraining his arms above his head in the grass. The movement was so quick and so controlled that Iruka hadn't even felt himself hit the ground.

He let his temper get the better of him.

"What are you doing?" he snapped at the older man, completely ignoring the fact that he was speaking to his superior. Part of him noticed after the words slipped from his mouth, and a light blush spread across his face. He was too angry to keep notice of it though.

Kakashi was momentarily stunned by the other man's attitude, but he quickly pushed the feeling back.

"If you don't stop this, you're going to hurt yourself." His voice was sharp, and the tone was stern and strict. It was commanding. But instead of making Iruka listen to the command, it backfired and did the opposite.

"Why do you care?" Iruka's voice was harsh. It made the infamous Sharingan Kakashi _flinch_.

The response Iruka was expecting- which was the other man saying he didn't care- never came. In fact, the response he got wasn't one he had expected at all. He had somehow made the Jounin _mad_.

_It's just because I'm not respecting his superior authority... Arrogant son of a bitch..._

The Copy Ninja's single, visible gray eye turned angry and hard as it glared down at the Chuunin. The pair of brown eyes met his glare without fear.

_Why was he angry over Iruka's comment?_

The two continued to glare angrily at each other for a few minutes, until Kakashi took a deep breath and broke the staring match, looking off to the side of Iruka's face as he took a moment to calm himself down. Since when did he loose his cool like that?

As he was calming down, he noticed a swollen, purple bruise on the other man's jaw. He immediately remembered how he had gotten it: he had punched him there during training.

The elite shinobi's expression softened at the sight of it. Why did he not like seeing an injury on the other man; especially one he had caused? It wasn't even a real injury- it was a bruise!

Reaching his hand out to the tanned and anger-flushed cheek, green healing chakra spread onto the tips of his fingers. The younger man flinched at the contact and started to snap at him and pull away, but then he felt the familiar feeling of healing chakra.

_Kakashi was healing a bruise on him?_ Shinobi got hurt training all the time, and a bruise was nothing! Why would Kakashi waste the chakra on such a thing?

Iruka's angered expression disappeared, and instead he stared up at the older man in silent shock. The bruise healed quickly, but the gloved hand stayed where it was; long pale fingers contrasting with the tanned, flushed skin. Iruka then noticed that the Jounin was sitting on him, with one hand still holding his wrist above his head.

The shocked expression on the Chuunin's face immediately snapped Kakashi out of whatever it was he was doing, and he stood up quickly. An unfamiliar feeling had filled him, and he didn't like it. He didn't like anything he didn't understand. He was a genius after all, and if _he _didn't understand something it couldn't possibly be good- could it?

He stepped away from the other man, and looked away almost embarrassedly. It was a good thing he wore a mask. He gained control of his composure quickly though, not liking how Iruka was still staring at him in shock.

"Are you done having your temper tantrum?" The Jounin was back to being uncaring.

His words worked; they snapped the man out of his shock. But the shock was instantly replaced with infuriation.

_Fuck..._

The tanned man stood up and started to stalk away, fuming, but as he passed Kakashi a hand wrapped around his wrist.

"Sorry." The tone in Kakashi's voice matched the word he used- it was sincerely apologetic.

Iruka took a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders, which had been tensed up previously. After a minute, he spoke.

"No, I'm sorry," he said, standing where Kakashi had stopped him. Unlike before, the gloved hand had dropped immediately after it had done its purpose of stopping the other man.

Iruka rubbed the back of his head as he stared at the ground, taking deep calming breaths. Kakashi waited patiently.

Finally, Iruka spoke. This time he was more in control and calmer. Venting his anger had done the trick, but now that it was out of him (at least for the moment), he realized what he had done. He turned from where he was standing to look at Kakashi, and saw the man was already watching him, an unreadable expression on his face.

_It doesn't look like he's upset..._

"I'm sorry," Iruka said again. "I don't know what got over me. And I'm sorry I took it out on you. You were only trying to help."

Kakashi's eye curved ever so slightly showing a small smile, accepting the apology.

"Maa, don't worry about it. We all have our bad days. Next time, if you need someone to talk to, come to me before you let it get so bad." He smiled a reassuring smile, seeing how worried the younger man looked.

Iruka's mouth almost dropped open. First, he had taken his anger out on a man who he barely knew. Second, that man had offered to be a listening ear when he needed one most. No one had ever seen Iruka snap like that- or at least not in a very long time. No one had ever asked Iruka if he needed someone to talk to. No one had ever seen his temper get so bad and not judge him.

His mouth almost dropped open for a second time.

The Jounin chuckled at the Chuunin's obvious disbelief, and the way his mouth kept dropping only to quickly close before it dropped far reminded him of a fish.

"What's so surprising, Sensei?" His voice was amused, and it reached his gray eye.

"N-Nothing. Thank you, Kakashi-san."

"Just Kakashi is fine." His masked smile grew ever so slightly.

"Kakashi." This caused the Chuunin to smile finally after such a stressful day and week. It wasn't a big smile, but it was enough of a smile that the Jounin felt accomplished.

The Jounin then smartly decided he should change the subject while the Chuunin was happy.

"Are you hungry?" Kakashi asked, hands in his pockets.

Iruka stared to open his mouth to say no, but his stomach betrayed him and growled at him. He hadn't eaten since the night before. A light flush spread across his cheeks, and he didn't need to answer the Jounin's question; there was no way he didn't hear the growl his stomach had produced.

"How about ramen?" Kakashi knew the Academy teacher ate ramen with Naruto often. Though, he didn't know if it was Naruto who liked the ramen or both of them.

"Sure."

_Okay, so he likes ramen then._

"Great, let's go."

The Copy Ninja turned away from the training grounds and started walking towards the main part of the village, where the restaurants were. Iruka walked silently next to him.

The silence wasn't awkward. It was actually quite nice, and Iruka felt calmer in the presence of the other man.

Kakashi felt just as content.

For the entire walk to the ramen stand they had remained silent, walking next to each other. Kakashi had his hands in his pockets and was not reading his book for once. He was, for some reason, enjoying the presence of the other man more than he had ever enjoyed his _Icha Icha _books.

Iruka was just happy to feel so relaxed for the first time in a long, long time. He basked in the feeling, not wanting the walk to end. But unfortunately, it did.

When they got to the ramen stand, they took two seats next to each other. Shikamaru and another Chuunin whose name Iruka had forgotten, but knew he volunteered at the academy like Shikamaru, were at the stand as well, already eating their ramen.

"Hi Iruka-sensei," Shikamaru said in greeting. Then he noticed Kakashi with Iruka and couldn't help the surprise that spread across his face. He added a, "Kakashi-sensei," to the greeting, nodding politely at the Jounin.

_Why is it so surprising that I'm eating dinner with Kakashi...? _

After thinking about that for a moment, he realized he had never seen Kakashi eating dinner with anyone besides his team. In fact, he had never seen Kakashi ever hanging out with anyone when off-duty, besides maybe Gai-sensei... Did he not have a lot of close friends either? Maybe that was why Iruka felt almost connected to the other man; they had that in common.

Iruka mentally shook his head. Kakashi was just being nice; he wasn't looking for a friend in Iruka. And he _definitely _wasn't looking for something more.

_Wait- why did I even think about him looking for something more?_

He then realized he had been staring off into space and someone had been trying to talk to him. Then he realized that someone was Kakashi.

_I'm doing a lot of 'realizing' today…_

"W-what?" Iruka said, snapping out of his train of thought. "Sorry."

"I was just asking if you wanted to order anytime soon."

Iruka nodded, an ever so faint blush on his cheeks when he remembered thinking about Kakashi being more than a friend.

_I must be delusional if I'm thinking a straight man would want me like that, especially Kakashi-sensei... _

He pushed the odd and sudden feeling out of his head. No crushes on his straight teacher were allowed.

"I'll have pork ramen please," Iruka told the cook. Kakashi ordered the same thing.

They sat in silence while they waited for their ramen, and Iruka could feel Shikamaru's gaze on the both of them. Occasionally, he heard faint whispers coming from the other two Chuunin. Iruka's face started to get redder, but he pushed the heat away and back to wherever it was it came from.

_There's nothing wrong with me eating dinner with Kakashi-sensei... It's not like it's a date or anything. It's a teacher being nice to his current student. Nothing more. Not even friendship! Why would the Copy Nin want to be friends with him anyway? Yeah, right. _

Their food came, and Iruka took a pair of chopsticks from the holder they were in, breaking them apart.

"Itadakimasu!" He said, proceeding to dipping his chopsticks into the bowl, and then bringing them to his mouth with noodles in them.

He was on his second bite when he glanced over at Kakashi, wondering how he ate with his mask on. But to his surprise, his bowl was completely empty.

"You could die eating that fast!" Iruka said in surprise, then flushed at the comment.

_Well, it's true!_

"Plus it's really hot; you have to have scolded your tongue, not to mention your throat!"

The Copy Ninja just shrugged and smiled his famous smile.

"I'm used to it."

Iruka shook his head as if exasperated.

"I can see it now. 'The infamous Sharingan Kakashi, killed by a bowl of ramen.'"

The Jounin laughed, and Iruka took another bite of his soup, enjoying it instead of taking example of the other man, who had scarfed down the hot food.

Kakashi waited patiently for the Academy teacher to finish his own food, used to having to wait on people eating. No one tended to eat as fast as he did.

When he was done, Kakashi paid for both of their meals and they said their thanks to the ramen cook and assistant.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei." Iruka had tried to object while he was paying, but the Jounin had paid no attention to him and instead paid for his food, as well as his own.

"It's not a problem, Sensei. But how about in return, you call me Kakashi from now on, ne?"

Iruka nodded. He would have to remember that. It felt weird not calling the man who was training him 'sensei'. And it felt even weirder not calling a Jounin, and superior, 'san'.

"How about we start your training back up tomorrow then?"

Iruka nodded again.

"That would be great."

They started to part ways, but Iruka stopped and looked over his shoulder at Kakashi, who had also stopped walking when he sensed Iruka stop.

"Thank you."

Those two words held a lot more than just being thankful about the training.

Kakashi, not knowing how to respond to such a heartfelt thanks, simply nodded.

"See you tomorrow, _Kakashi_." Iruka said with a smile, emphasizing that he didn't say 'sensei' or 'san'.

"See ya."

* * *

**A/N: **Good, bad, amazing, okay, great? Let me know what you thought! Your reviews really do help me, and they're all appreciated!

Getting an email notifying me of a follow, favorite, and/or review makes my day! I get so happy and encouraged by them, so if you like it, please follow, favorite, and/or review it!

Thanks so much!


	4. Stamina Building or Friendship Building?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. I do really like it though. :D

**A/N: **I now present to you, Chapter 4! Sorry it's a little later than my original due date, I was busier than I thought I would be, and had mild writer's block / lack of ideas for this particular chapter. But I really like the ideas I came up with for it! ^-^

Thanks for reading, and enjoy!

* * *

_**Catching Feelings**_

_Chapter Four: Stamina Building or Friendship Building?_

* * *

Iruka woke up to his alarm blaring in his ear at 5 in the morning.

"It's _way_ too early," he mumbled to himself without even having to look at the time, stopping the alarm with a smack of his hand and pushing the bed covers off of him. '_Especially for a Saturday,'_ he mentally added.

Laying there for a minute, he finally got up off of the bed and stumbled sleepily over to the shower. He had work to do, and that drove him to get ready and not fall asleep during the process.

After a nice, refreshing shower, the Academy teacher felt more awake, and he was no longer on the verge of falling asleep.

Eating a quick and healthy breakfast of fruit and granola to keep him energized during the morning, he then chugged a glass of orange juice and placed the glass in the sink, rinsing it off along with the other utensils he had used.

He was out the door by 5:30, and made it to the Academy before their meeting time, which was 6:00. Surprisingly, there were a few other shinobi there who were early as well. Some were sitting and chatting while they waited, and some were fast asleep against tree trunks and soft grass.

Iruka just stood there, smiling at all of the happy and sleep-deprived faces, relieved that everyone was okay. He had been so worried about how everyone would react to the attack during the fragile time in their lives, but they all had stayed strong. He felt so proud of them.

_Just shows how strong the Leaf really is..._

There were a few children running around playing tag, and Iruka assumed they belonged to some of the ninja who were helping repair the Academy. They were chasing after each other like they didn't even know it was six in the morning.

_I wish I had that kind of energy this early._

He was musing over in his head the energy of children compared to adults, when a hand fell on his shoulder.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka turned to look at the owner of the hand to see a familiar face.

"Shikamaru! I didn't know you were helping out here today," Iruka said with a smile, genuinely happy to see his former student.

The young Nara removed his hand from Iruka's shoulder, and itched the back of his head with it instead. He looked more annoyed than the others with being up so early during the weekend.

"I figured it was the least troublesome task offered to me. I do spend a lot of my time here, after all. Might as well help fix it."

Iruka chuckled at the lazy attitude he knew well. From all of his experience with Shikamaru, he knew the younger Chuunin truly cared about the village, no matter how troublesome he found everything to be.

"Well thank you for your help." He smiled at the young man, and then looked around him, seeing everyone was there except maybe one person.

_Might as well get started._

"Ok, everyone!" Iruka yelled to get their attention. "Let's get started! Get into your previous groups of six, and then head over to where you were working yesterday. If you don't have a group, tag along with one of the groups. If what you were working on yesterday is finished, come see me for further instructions. Dismissed!"

Everyone said, "Yes, Sensei!" and then scattered off to where they were working the day before. A group of people, as well as Shikamaru- who had decided to join that particular group- came up to Iruka.

"We finished repairing and rebuilding the outdoor training area before we left yesterday," the leader of the group informed him.

"Great job, all of you!" Iruka said happily, and then thought of a project for them to start next. "The front of the Academy is a mess; the door is cracked, the sign fell off and broke, dirt is turned up everywhere, a couple of trees fell down, and I'm sure you'll find other issues there as well. See what you all can do about that!"

"We'll do the best we can repairing it, Sensei," the leader said, accepting the task and walking off with his group towards the front of the Academy.

_Now, what should I do…?_

There had been only one new volunteer that morning, meaning one of the three groups of six now had seven. He mentally calculated where the remaining two groups of six would be, and then went to go join one of them.

The group he had chosen to help was repairing an outside wall that had caved in, along with some of the interior walls.

They worked until lunch on rebuilding the walls, getting a large portion of the inner walls done and part of the outer one. After lunch, they went to finish building the walls and then paint the walls from the outside and inside.

Before Iruka knew it, it was six o'clock and everyone was saying their goodbyes and leaving for the day. When everyone was gone, Iruka decided to look around at all of the progress everyone had accomplished so far.

He walked around the entire Academy to see the outside repair work was almost finished, and then went inside of it, walking the halls and looking inside all of the rooms.

When he got to his own room, he saw all the chairs were still knocked over and items were scattered across the floor from when the attack had happened. The class had freaked out: throwing things, pushing things out of the way, and knocking over things… It had been horrible.

He looked sadly at the mess. It reminded him of that day again, and images of the children screaming and crying made him clench his fists. He wanted revenge. He _hated_ whoever it was that attacked the village. He didn't care that the attack wasn't as big as it could have been. He didn't care that it had ultimately failed. What he cared about was that it hurt his village and terrified the children.

Well, at least it had terrified them during the moment. Now they were all running around the village, discussing how to attack them back like they were full-fledged ninjas. They had maps of made-up enemy villages laid out, attack plans written out, and even handmade headbands with cardboard attached to strips of cloth as forehead protectors; the Leaf symbol being drawn on with marker.

Iruka chuckled at the thought, the kids' determination to protect the village bringing a small smile to his angered face.

He was thinking about the information he had heard about the attackers and what the Leaf planned on doing, when a hand fell on his shoulder for a second time that day. Except this time, it wasn't Shikamaru. It was a gloved, pale hand that was becoming quickly familiar to him.

Kakashi, feeling Iruka relax his tensed shoulder at the realization of who was behind him, dropped his hand back into his pocket, matching the other one.

"You're late," Kakashi said, observing the table-turned classroom with a lazy, carefree attitude. He knew it was Iruka's, and he had a good idea about what was going on under that tamed, chocolate brown hair.

Iruka turned towards the man, his face already masked in a sheepish smile. He rubbed the back of his head, matching his embarrassed behavior.

"Am I? I must have lost track of the time."

Kakashi tilted his head to the side slightly, and his eye curved upwards, giving the impression of a small smile.

"Maa, Sensei, I know all the excuses in the '_Why I'm Late_' book. I did write it, you know."

Iruka chuckled, agreeing with the fact that the other man would be the author of a book like that. If there really was one, of course.

_Maybe there is?_

"It's no excuse. I really must have gotten distracted. I was looking at the progress of the Academy, and well, I got lost in thought." Iruka bowed his head slightly in apology. "Gomen, Kakashi-sensei. It won't happen again."

Kakashi let the fact that Iruka added 'sensei' to his name pass.

"It's not a problem. My original plan for today required more time though, so how about we just go for a run? Stamina building. Good stuff."

Iruka nodded his head. "That sounds good with me."

They then headed off to the training grounds together, and removed their vests and excess belongings once they got there. Iruka put his things up against a shaded tree, and then started stretching, working on his hamstrings so he wouldn't strain anything during the run.

Kakashi waited patiently, not needing to stretch because, as Iruka thought sarcastically, '_He's too elite for stretching._'

Once the Chuunin was ready, they set off into a steady jog towards the outskirts of the village.

After a moment of silence, Kakashi spoke. Iruka had been dozing off in his own little world, thinking about silly, random things.

"What made you become an Academy teacher?"

Iruka snapped back into the real world, and looked over at the Jounin as he jogged. The question had caught him off guard, and honestly, confused him a little. Why would Kakashi want to know that? Pushing back his skepticism, he thought about the answer to the question instead.

"Sandaime made me do it at first. Back when I first became a Chuunin, he had me fill in a teaching position when the permanent teacher was on a mission. I think it was supposed to be punishment for talking back to him or something," Iruka said with a fond laugh. "I tended to do that a lot, although not nearly as much as I did in my younger days."

"And?" The Copy Nin pressed after the Academy teacher had become silent for a moment. "What made you decide to stay?"

Iruka, still puzzled over the personal question, answered the other man once again.

"I fell in love with the children. Never knew I had liked them so much until then." Iruka smiled at the memory. "There were no teaching positions available at the time, so I just volunteered until there was one. Who would have thought? Me, teaching..."

He laughed, imagining what his parents would have said. They wouldn't have believed it at first, he was sure. He had been the most impatient person in the world; how had he ended up teaching little pre-genin devils?

Kakashi was silent for a moment while Iruka thought about how his parents would react to his career choice. Then, another question was asked.

"How old were you when you became a Chuunin?"

Iruka spoke without giving any thought to it, still caught up in his musings over his parents.

"Thirteen. Passed the exam the first time. Kind of like Shikamaru," he said, smiling at the thought of the younger boy he had taught. Luckily, he had gotten out of his rebellious stage before he became a Genin, thanks to Sandaime.

While he was considered very smart and clever, and obviously ranked up as a Chuunin pretty fast, he was also considered a 'Permanent Chuunin'. And he was fine with that. He didn't want to be a Jounin, and he didn't have the mindset of a Jounin anyway.

Iruka's thoughts then turned to Kakashi. When had he become a Chuunin? There was so little anyone knew about the other man, and Iruka asked him the question before he had even really thought it through.

"When did you become one?"

When the question left his mouth, a light flush spread across his scarred nose and down his cheeks. No one ever asked Hatake Kakashi personal questions; there had to be a reason for it. Iruka looked hesitantly over at Kakashi while he jogged to see the other man was looking at him with an open expression of wonder.

'_Why am I discussing anything personal with him?_' Kakashi thought, staring at the other man as he kept a steady pace, not having to watch his feet or anything in his path for that matter. The questions for Iruka had just come out of nowhere. He had suddenly had an urge to know more about the other man. And now the other man was asking questions back. He should have expected that...

He stayed quite for a moment after the question had been delivered to him, not used to being asked anything personal- even if it wasn't a very big question.

Finally, he answered the Chuunin. The poor man looked like he was going to jump out of his skin more and more every second he took to answer the question.

"I was six when I became a Chuunin." He watched the other man warily, not used to telling people about himself; especially someone he hadn't been talking to for very long. The only person that really knew anything personal about him was Gai.

Iruka's mouth dropped, and he openly stared at Kakashi.

_Six?! _A normal student didn't graduate the academy until they were twelve, and the average age for becoming a Chuunin was six_teen._

"How old were you when you became a Genin then?" Iruka asked in amazement, and also a hint of sympathy. Taking on a life like that so young couldn't have been easy. He must have had almost no childhood.

Kakashi saw the amazement in Iruka's face. He had expected that. But what he hadn't expected was sympathy. No one usually looked deeper into the facts, and they were just impressed if they happened to find out that he was a child prodigy. It made him even more amazed by the other man. And he wanted to know more.

"Five."

The Jounin's voice held no emotion. It gave nothing away that was any more personal than answering the questions in general.

"When you became a Jounin...?"

"Thirteen," he answered, but this time a light chuckle escaped his mouth and he looked amused. "You're full of questions today, Sensei."

Iruka started to blush, but he stood his ground. Well, as much as he could stand it while running at the same time anyway. Kakashi had been asking him just as many questions.

"So are you," he shot back pointedly, holding the amused gaze with his own determined one. He wouldn't back down. If Kakashi could ask questions, so could he.

Kakashi laughed, giving Iruka a feeling of victory. "_Touché._"

They ran silently for a few minutes, both of them processing the new information they had learned about each other. Kakashi was more processing the fact that he shared personal information with the other man. He looked over at him again, watching as the tanned Chuunin ran with his head tilted up slightly, lost in thought. He looked so peaceful and warm. '_And cute,_' he mentally added.

_Where did that come from?_

Kakashi returned his gaze back to the scenery in the front of him, now musing about the Chuunin in his head even more. He soon felt the person in his thoughts looking at him, and a small smile twitched at his lips. Deciding to let the other man study him for a moment, Kakashi thought of a new question to ask him.

All he knew about the Academy teacher was that, well, he was an Academy teacher. He could have a temper, and it had been worse when he was younger. He had a bond with a certain blonde-haired Jinchuuriki that he also happened to be pretty close to as well. He was very protective over the village and the children. And he blushed easily. Oh, and his new information about when he became a Chuunin and why he started teaching.

_Hmm._

"Why are you and Naruto so close?"

He now looked at Iruka, who looked caught off guard instead of openly thoughtful like he had been before.

The questions already had been a lot for both of them, and Iruka had honestly thought their little personal question game was over. He wasn't expecting more, but then again, Kakashi always seemed to surprise him in some way.

"We're the same," he answered simply.

When he didn't say anymore, Kakashi pressed the question further.

"The same?"

Iruka once again looked at Kakashi, this time his own face being wary. He was confused by all of the questions.

_Stop overthinking things..._

Iruka looked back at the path ahead of him, pushing back his skeptical thoughts once again.

"We both lost our parents in the Kyuubi attack, and we both strived to make others notice us." He paused for a moment in thought, and took a deep, sad sounding breath. "We were both alone."

Kakashi didn't know what to say to that, and the confession showed him a whole new side of Iruka that he hadn't known before. He was surprised when Iruka, who was caught up in some memory, kept talking.

"I hated him for a long time, you know. I blamed him for my parents' death. I blamed him for everything." He sighed, looking down at the ground as he ran, as if his memories were being projected onto it. "It wasn't until the day his class graduated and he didn't, that I realized how similar we were. I realized I knew exactly how he felt, and what he was going through."

Kakashi continued to listen silently, not wanting to disrupt such a personal statement. That, and he was still in shock over the deep answer he was receiving.

Iruka then looked up at the sky and laughed darkly. "I think I was the first person who ever cried for that boy. That's why we're so close."

Both of the men stayed silent again after that, lost in thought. Kakashi hadn't had a good enough response for an answer like that, so he just stayed silent and respected that the other man was done answering.

Iruka had been alone...? And his parents had died in the Kyuubi attack?

Now that he thought about it, Kakashi remembered Iruka during the attack. He had to have been about nine or ten years old. Kakashi, a young Jounin at the age of fourteen, had been helping evacuate the village when he had seen two ninjas trying to pull a child away from the battle. He was tanned, scarred on his nose, and determined to go help his parents. It had been Iruka, he know realized. He had completely forgotten about that.

Kakashi felt a newfound connection with the other man. He had been alone most of his childhood too, having no friends his age and losing both of his parents, and he had lost Minato- his Sensei- in the fight against the Kyuubi; which had made him almost hate Naruto too growing up. But as he aged, he knew it was in his Sensei's best wishes for the village to see Naruto as a hero for containing the demon fox.

His next words came as a surprise to himself. He spoke without thinking, but once he had he kept talking. He didn't know why he said it all. Maybe it was because he wanted to comfort the other man in some way, knowing he wasn't the only one who was alone, and that Kakashi could relate to him as well.

"I was alone too," he said and paused, waiting for Iruka's attention to be redirected back to him. When it was, he continued. He couldn't believe he was telling the Sensei something so incredibly personal, but he somehow knew he could trust the other man to keep it secret and keep it safe.

"Being a ninja so young, I had no friends. My mother died when I was a baby, and my father killed himself when I was eight."

Kakashi clenched his fists as he ran, thinking back on those days, but he unclenched them when he thought about when he made peace with his father when he himself died.

"I _hated_ him," he said, bitterness laced in voice. "He had abandoned his mission to save a comrade, and the village then turned on him, making him lose his incredible reputation." He paused, thinking of the next words he would say, carefully controlling his voice.

"He ashamed me. It's why I started wearing the mask." He pointed at his mask for emphasis with a gloved hand. "And then my own comrade died because I wouldn't abandon a mission to save him. When I chose to go rescue him, it was too late." Even now after so many years, deep regret filled his voice.

"Basically, everyone who was close to me, before Team 7, is dead. Not to mention I failed my team and lost Sasuke, so you can say he's as good as dead to me, I suppose."

Iruka stared at the other man in astonishment at the confession of what sounded like a very, _very _personal topic.

_Why is he telling me this?_

For once, Iruka, the man of words, didn't know what to say. He was shocked. And at the same time, he was honored. _Hatake Kakashi _was speaking to him on personal terms. He didn't know why he was speaking to him, but he wouldn't let him regret it. Iruka _didn't want_ him to regret it.

"Sasuke leaving the village wasn't your fault," he said seriously. He looked at the taller man as they ran, soon coming to a stop back at the training grounds.

They stood there, staring wordlessly at each other, until Iruka finally found the words to say. After getting over the initial shock of the confession, he realized why Kakashi had told him everything he did. He was telling him that he wasn't the only one who was alone.

Iruka stepped forward to close the distance, and he did the most unexpected thing- for both himself and Kakashi. He _hugged _him.

He couldn't think of anything else to do to show his thanks as much as a hug would. And no, Iruka didn't go around hugging people whenever he felt very thankful. It was actually a very rare thing for him to do, except when it came to hugging the children. He didn't let his guard down easily, and he never trusted someone enough to do it fully. That being said, he wasn't on hugging terms with anyone aside from Naruto.

Wrapping his arms around the taller man's upper waist, he pressed the side of his face against the crook of his masked neck, his head resting against the cloth-covered curve of his chiseled jaw.

"Thank you."

For the second time in almost 24 hours, Iruka thanked him with such a heartfelt thanks that Kakashi had been left speechless. And this time it was even more so.

Along with that and the hug, Kakashi was now shocked speechless as well. He hadn't been hugged like Iruka was hugging him since Rin, who had been in love with him and he couldn't return her feelings.

This time it was different. This time, Kakashi wanted to return the hug with just as much feeling- just as much thanks. It was then he realized he was thankful to Iruka too. He hadn't had someone to talk to in a long time like that, and he hadn't been hugged like he was being hugged by a person that he actually wanted to return the hug to _ever_.

Long arms wrapped around the younger man, and Kakashi hugged Iruka back, pressing the side of his masked face against where Iruka was resting his head. He didn't say anything. Words weren't enough.

They stood there, hugging each other for what felt like seconds, but must have been longer.

When they finally parted, there was as newly formed bond between them. _Friendship._

"See you at the usual time tomorrow?" Kakashi asked after they had parted from their hug, looking down at the younger man with a genuine smile on his face.

Iruka smiled a smile that could light up the dark sky, and nodded once, turning to walk away from the other man and towards his home.

"See ya."

Kakashi stared after the younger man as he walked away, and he placed his hands in his pockets. An unreadable expression crossed his face as he watched the man, and an unfamiliar feeling filled him once again. Only now he was starting to recognize part of it.

_Hope._

* * *

**A/N: **I hope you liked it! I really like how it turned out :)

Review with what you think! Your thoughts really are encouraging; it's kind of the reason this chapter took a little longer to come out than I intended. I didn't really get a response to the third chapter (which I really liked) and it was a little discouraging, and it gave me a little writer's block. *glares at the evil writer's block laughing in the corner*

Anyway, thanks for reading! :3

P.S. If you see anything wrong, please let me know!


	5. Fake Relationships and Gay Bars

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. But I have been watching it for about 7 years now.

**A/N: **Hi guys! It's finally here! Sorry it took so long, classes started last week so I've been really busy. It's a little short for my liking, but I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

_**Catching Feelings**_

_Chapter Five: Fake Relationships and Gay Bars_

* * *

"I have a mission for you."

Kakashi leaned against the wall in the Hokage's office, arms crossed and eye bored. It wasn't even noon yet and he had been called to see Tsunade. He hadn't gotten much sleep that night, and her reason for summoning him had better be good.

"Oh?" he said, mildly interested. "And what that might be?"

Tsunade continued to stare seriously at him, not all all affected by his lack of interest.

"Infiltrating the rogue ninja who attacked our village."

At that information, the Copy Ninja straightened up and his arms dropped to his side.

'_Ah, now he's interested,'_ Tsunade thought to herself, feeling smug. Of course, only the biggest missions would cause the famous Jounin to straighten up from his lazy slouch.

Kakashi stayed silent, waiting for more information. He now looked _very _interested.

"The rogue ninja that attacked are from a smaller village in the Fire Country. The leader of these ninjas is said to be the owner of a bar. A _gay_ bar. I will need you to choose someone- a male someone- who favorably isn't a Jounin. One you would be comfortable faking a relationship with- assuming that you aren't already in a relationship with a male someone, or even female for that matter."

The Jounin raised an eyebrow, but she continued unfazed.

"You will be going undercover as low class, weak ninja. You are going to be moving to the village like it is your new home, and you will get civilian jobs. You will spend time at the bar together like a couple, and slowly gain information. If you become trusted enough, you will join the rogue ninja. Pick a partner by sunset and inform me, then be ready to leave at sunrise."

After informed, Kakashi nodded once. "Understood."

"Good. Dismissed!"

...

The Jounin sat on the same tree branch he had sat earlier that week when he first observed Iruka. He had his _Icha Icha_ book open, but wasn't reading it. His mind was too full of thoughts he was trying to process.

_Who would he choose as his partner?_

Tsunade had said she wished it to not be a Jounin, and the one Jounin that had crossed his mind was Gai. He quickly dismissed the thought, shuddering at the image of even having to pretend the Green Beast was his male lover.

His gaze left his book and looked off into the distance at the figure he was debating about choosing. A certain Chuunin, who happened to be Iruka.

Out of everyone in the village he imagined being able to be in a relationship with, even if it was fake, it was the Academy sensei. It wasn't only that- lately Iruka had become a friend to him. And friends weren't something he had a lot of.

His one-eyed gaze bore into the brown-haired man, drinking in his features. At the thought of being in a relationship with him, he became very aware of how attractive he found the other man.

He studied him as he worked, and he literally almost licked his lips when he bent over to pick up some wood, giving the Jounin a nice view of his arse.

Kakashi mentally shook his head, pulling his gaze away from Iruka.

_It's a FAKE relationship. Nothing more. So stop looking at him like you want to do dirty things to him._

_But I do want to do dirty things to him..._

_STOP!_

That was it, it _had_ to be Iruka. There was no one else.

He knew Iruka would be ecstatic about getting revenge on the village he loved so much. But he wasn't sure he would accept the whole fake, gay lover part.

_I could always leave that part out until after he accepts the mission..._

Kakashi smiled to himself and chuckled lightly, imagining Iruka's reaction when he found out. It would be an interesting mission.

He took a deep breath and moved into a more comfy position on his branch. Now that he had processed his thoughts and had a plan, he could focus on reading his _Icha Icha _again_. _Only now when he read it, he had a certain man on his mind.

_Great. _Iruka had invaded his porn book.

...

Iruka walked to the training grounds at 5:30 in a very happy mood. They had finished re-pairing the Academy, and classes would resume the next day. All had gone as planned.

He was a little early for training, and doubted his temporary sensei would be there yet. But it was no matter to him, and he would train privately for the next thirty minutes- plus however late the Jounin would be.

To his extreme surprise, however, when he arrived at the training grounds, Kakashi was already there, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed.

Iruka's mouth visibly dropped. It took him a second to process that it had, and then another to close to it.

"You're... Early?"

The masked ninja couldn't help but laugh at how surprised Iruka looked, and an amused smile spread across his hidden mouth.

"A little bird told me you finished early."

Well, that little bird was Kakashi himself, but Iruka didn't need to know all of the details. And he definitely didn't need to know that he had been watching the younger man most of the day.

Iruka just stood there in silent disbelief. In all of his years working in the mission room and buying Naruto ramen, he had never heard of the Jounin being on time, much less early. Before he could think any further into it, the so-said Jounin spoke.

"I have some news," he said in his usual bored voice, tilting his head slightly as he looked at Iruka. "Tsunade assigned me on a mission. To infiltrate the rogue ninja who attacked the village."

Iruka's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow, that's great! Teach them a lesson for me, okay?" He had risen his hand to itch the back of his head when Kakashi's next words made him freeze.

Kakashi's eye curved upwards. "Well, I was hoping you would help me teach them a lesson, Sensei. Since you are the best lesson teacher in the village, ne?"

Iruka's eyes widened once again, even more than they had before. "_Really_?" His hand dropped back to his side from where it had been on the back of his head. "Why me?"

"Maa, well Tsunade told me to choose a partner, and I thought, 'Why not my new, brightest student?' you see?"

A flush spread across the tanned, scarred nose. "With all due respect, Kakashi-sensei, I don't think I'm a good choice-" Iruka was cut off as a masked face was suddenly almost nose to nose with him.

His breath caught, and he backed up away from the close proximity. Unfortunately, he backed into a tree. The Jounin followed him to the tree, keeping it so the Chuunin couldn't get away unless he scooted sideways.

"Are you questioning my authority?" Kakashi said in a scarily happy voice.

He was flustering Iruka on purpose, of course, and was having fun with it.

"N-no, I'm not," Iruka said hurriedly, pressing his back even closer against the trunk, like he thought he could sink into it and get away.

"Then what were you saying?" Kakashi kept his close distance, his eye curved happily, yet dangerously.

"That I would love to accompany you, K-Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi smiled, satisfied, and patted the chocolate brown head. "Good boy."

Iruka's face reddened from the dog-like treatment, but he held his tongue. This caused the Jounin to look even more pleased.

"We'll be leaving at sunrise. Meet me at the village gate. I'm going to inform Tsunade of my choice now, so I'll leave you to do whatever it is you need to do."

The older man held up his hand to form a sign, and with a, "See ya," and a big smile, he teleported away.

Iruka stared at the area where Kakashi disappeared for a moment, slowly processing what had happened.

_I'm going on a mission... To infiltrate the rogue ninja... With Hatake Kakashi... And he chose me to accompany him out of everyone!_

Iruka continued to stare blankly at the empty area of space, and then realization slowly dawned upon his face.

_I'm going on a huge, very important mission with Kakashi!_

He turned towards the way he came and hurried back to his apartment. He had packing to do!

...

"_Iruka? _As in _Umino _Iruka?"

Tsunade stared at Kakashi, in a mild state of surprise. Out of everyone she thought the Copy Nin would pick, Umino Iruka was on another planet. She didn't even know Kakashi knew him, much less would pick him to be his partner on such an important mission.

_Wait..._

"You're hot for _Iruka_?" The Fifth Hokage said suddenly, pointing an accusing finger at the silver-haired man.

Kakashi merely smiled his one-eyed smile, saying nothing in response to her question.

"If you must know, I've been training him. And he has a passion for the village, and would rather enjoy getting revenge on these amateur Shinobi. It's simply a training opportunity, that's all."

Tsunade then decided that the conspicuous Jounin sounded _way _too innocent.

"You better not cost us one of our Chuunin, Kakashi."

The Fifth was actually very fond of Iruka, as mostly everyone was, and the thought of the perverted Sharingan Kakashi getting him hurt or fucking with him made her get protective of the Academy Sensei.

"I'm serious, Kakashi," she said when the Jounin continued to just smile. "If Iruka comes back with one hair out of place, you will be taking Genin on missions for a very long time."

"Maa, you wouldn't do that to one of your best shinobi, would you?" The silver-haired man said, rubbing the back of his head in a false nervous gesture.

"Just try me."

He held her dark glare with his own one-eyed one, and finally he broke the connection and sighed, once again rubbing his head, as if exasperated.

"Fine, fine. Stop glaring at me like that, it's getting scary."

The Hokage suppressed an amused smile, and waved him off.

...

Iruka ran to the village gate the next morning at sunrise. He had slept through his alarm due to staying up late packing, and making instructions and putting together work for the substitute teacher at the Academy. By the time he woke up from the blaring alarm, it was 20 minutes until he was supposed to meet Kakashi at the gate.

Taking a quick shower and then pulling on his shinobi uniform, he grabbed an apple and headed for the door, slipping on his sandals and slinging his bag over his shoulder.

As he ran up to the gate only ten minutes late, he met Kakashi who was leaning against a pole, arms crossed.

"You're late." The masked voice sounded almost amused.

"Why is it that you only seem to be on time when it involves me..." Iruka muttered under his breath, and then blushed when Kakashi rose an eyebrow in acknowledgment to hearing what he had said.

"Maa, I'll have you know I was exactly five minutes late today. You were just more late," Kakashi pointed out in his monotone voice. "I'll have to say, I'm not used to being the one waiting for someone. Even if I only waited a couple of minutes."

Iruka decided apology was the best answer. His bowed his head slightly. "Gomen, Kakashi-sensei. It won't happen again."

The Jounin raised his eyebrow once again, this time looking very amused.

"I feel as if I've heard that before, Sensei."

After a moment of thought, Iruka remembered saying almost the exact same thing when he had been late for training a few days prior. Heat flushed lightly across the tanned, scarred nose once again.

"I did say that, didn't I?" The Chuunin chuckled, rubbing the back of his head nervously, not noticing the way the Jounin was watching him.

Kakashi's single-eye stared intently at Iruka, though he masked the intent pretty well on his behalf. The younger man looked like he had literally just hopped out of bed, with his damp hair and semi-sleepy state of mind. He smelled like sandalwood and lemongrass, and it made the Copy Ninja want to pull down his mask and inhale the scent. How had he not noticed how good Iruka smelled before?

"Better get going," Kakashi finally said, feeling almost proud of his self-control.

Iruka nodded once, and adjusted his backpack so it was properly on his back and not falling off of him from the hasty departure.

Turning towards the gate, the two of them left the village. Their mission had begun.

* * *

**A/N: **Let me know what you thought! This chapter wouldn't be up so soon if it wasn't for darkfirex199, whose emails I got notifying me of a favorite, follow, and review. Honestly, the story hasn't been on my mind a whole lot this week because of classes, and those email alerts happened to come at a time where I had some free time to finish the chapter. So thanks, darkfirex199!

I'll try to have Chapter 6 up as soon as possible! Thanks for reading!


	6. Catfight

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. I do like Ramen though.

**A/N:** Hi guys! Thanks for your patience while waiting for this chapter. I'm an honors college student, so I have a lot on my plate. But I haven't forgotten about the story! I really enjoy writing it, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Just remember, the more responses I receive for the story/chapter, the more encouraged I become to stop studying for a few hours to write instead. This isn't bribery for getting more chapter updates on the story; it's just a fact. :) Thanks for reading, and enjoy!

* * *

_**Catching Feelings**_

_Chapter Six: __Catfight_

* * *

Kakashi and Iruka spent the entire day traveling to the small fire country town, managing to get there shortly after the sun had set. Before arriving, they changed into civilian clothes.

The two men walked into the village with Kakashi wearing dark blue jeans and brown sandals, completed with a long sleeved, white button-up shirt. His mask was black and he had a matching black, soft eye patch over his left eye. Iruka was dressed similarly, wearing lighter blue jeans and an olive green t-shirt with brown sandals. His hair was tied back loosely with a few chocolate brown strands of hair hanging in his face. Kakashi personally _loved_ the look on Iruka, and the thought of seeing the younger man in similar outfits on a day-to-day basis made him grow aware of a certain member of his. He quickly pushed the thought away, not wanting to be in an awkward situation.

It was hard for him to tell what Iruka thought. He teased the Chuunin at almost every opportunity he was presented with and tried to get a rise out of him that would give some sort of hidden emotion away. So far the Academy sensei hadn't shown him much to go off of. Although, Kakashi did notice that the younger man blushed more than usual when he hinted something sexual or dirty. Because of this, the silver-haired man was getting a little nervous about how Iruka would react to the gay lover part of the mission. But Kakashi's love for teasing the other man overpowered this nervousness, and he knew it was nothing he couldn't handle.

Iruka was engrossed in the task of examining the village, his mouth slightly ajar in the process. The village was _beautiful_. There were pampered trees, flowers, grass, and other shrubbery. The buildings and shopping centers all looked up to date and clean, and the homes looked just as well kept. It didn't look like a village that was bad. But then again, the whole village probably wasn't behind the attack.

Kakashi chuckled lightly to himself at Iruka's fascination of the town. Hands in pockets, he silently walked with him and didn't disturb his awestruck moment with a teasing remark. The Chuunin obviously didn't go on many undercover missions in so-called "bad villages". In most cases, the villages didn't actually look bad; although there were some pretty sketchy villages the Jounin had seen in his days. This village, however, was particularly very good looking. Kakashi looked around lazily, eyeing the people and seeing how they behaved, which turned out to be like any other normal villager.

When they came to a certain small house, Kakashi stopped. Iruka almost kept walking off without him, but the Jounin put a helpful hand on his shoulder, keeping it there a little longer than necessary. Iruka didn't notice the delay, as usual.

"Welcome home," Kakashi said in his extra cheerful voice. "This is where we'll be living until we complete the mission."

Iruka examined the house, looking over its pretty features until they walked up to the front door. A thought crossed his mind as Kakashi leaned down to pull a key out from under a rock, proceeding to unlock the door.

"Kakashi, what are the villagers going to think of two men living together? What's our cover?" Iruka asked, walking through the door once Kakashi had opened it for them.

Kakashi made sure they were both in the house and closed the door, leaning up against it and crossing his arms. His eyes curved upwards into an innocent smile as Iruka stood in front of him, raising an eyebrow as he waited for an answer.

"Maa, didn't I tell you? We're a couple. The Shinobi suspected of leading the attack owns a gay bar, which we will be visiting frequently, namely on weekends like a normal couple."

"W-what?!" Iruka's mouth dropped, and he didn't even try to close it. "You and I… Are a couple for this mission?! But, but-" Kakashi cut him off.

"A _fake_ couple, Sensei." He waved his hand, like it was no big deal. "What are you getting flustered about anyway? Embarrassed to be with a handsome guy like me?"

Iruka turned beat red, and the shade continued to darken at every word Kakashi said. His shocked surprise slowly turned to something else. Something scary, Kakashi thought. The embarrassed shade of red was turning purple.

Kakashi, now getting nervous, continued to man the door in case the Chuunin had a desire to run back to Kohona. But the more purple Iruka's face got, the more vulnerable Kakashi felt being blocked between the door and the very angry looking man.

"Iruka, if you get any redder-" He was suddenly cut off, and the infamous copy ninja ran away from the door at what happened next.

"YOU INNSOLENT SON OF A BITCH!" Iruka exploded, and attacked Kakashi. A nice walkway table was suddenly hurled at the door, and Kakashi barely avoided it in his surprise at the amount of anger being directed at him.

"Iru-" A chair flew at his head and he ducked, only to have a vase flying at his head a moment later. It barely missed, as did the kick that came at his face next.

Iruka jumped on his back, pulling his long silver hair backwards, causing him to act in a horse-like manner as the other man twisted and pulled him in all directions. If Kakashi weren't so bewildered by the catfight type of fight going on between them, he would have laughed at the comical sight.

"YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE!" Tanned hands released the silver hair and started smacking Kakashi repeatedly on the top of his head.

"YOU TRICKED ME! YOU'RE A DIRTY, PERVERTED-" Iruka was suddenly flipped over Kakashi's head, but he hung on tightly, pulling Kakashi awkwardly over his flipping body, making them land tangled up together.

They both laid there for a minute, Iruka breathing deeply and Kakashi pondering what had just happened. After a few moments of silence, Kakashi started laughing. Iruka's fist flew out to smack Kakashi across the face, but the Jounin caught his wrist, laughing even harder.

"Stop laughing!" Iruka said, trying to tug his wrist away. Kakashi let him, chuckling.

"Can you imagine watching what just happened? I wish I had it on tape," Kakashi said, letting out another fit of laughter.

After a moment of Iruka stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the humor of the situation, he started laughing along with the Jounin. They laid there laughing until Kakashi sat up and leaned back on his pale, non-gloved hands.

"So, boyfriend. Want to go make an appearance at the local barbeque restaurant? I'm starving." He looked down at the laughter flushed Chuunin, who turned a darker shade of red at the use of the name boyfriend.

"I don't see why not." Iruka stood up, looking anywhere but at Kakashi. A feeling of discomfort radiated off of the man, and Kakashi felt a pang of guilt.

"Look, Iruka, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't think you would get so upset over it." Kakashi looked at him with a sincere expression of apology.

Iruka brought himself to look at the other man, who really did look sincerely apologetic, even when over half of his face was covered. A sigh escaped his lips and he itched the back of his head, looking away embarrassedly.

"No, I'm sorry. I overreacted." Iruka said, motioning to Kakashi's messed up hair and the destroyed furniture to prove his point.

"Maa, don't worry about it." Kakashi waved it off with a pale, gloved hand. He gave the Chuunin an amused smile. "It was interesting. I learned that you like to fight dirty."

Iruka flushed, avoiding eye contact and looking at the ground. Kakashi chuckled and walked by him to the door, stopped to ruffle his soft, chocolate brown hair in a way that almost seemed affectionate, if not friendly.

"C'mon. I'm sure I'm more interesting than the ground." He opened the door and stood there holding it. Iruka's gaze left the ground to look at Kakashi in an unreadable way, and he then snapped out of it, smiling.

"That's what you think," he teased as he passed Kakashi, walking out the door. Kakashi smiled and followed him out, locking the door behind him.

...

Iruka's face turned bright red as they walked into the barbeque restaurant. It wasn't simply because he was standing with a man- he did that often and it didn't mean he was dating him. It was because that man had slipped his arm around Iruka's waist. It wasn't that Iruka was against being gay- he felt that gender didn't matter. It was the fact that it was _Kakashi_ who had his arm around Iruka. He didn't know why, but just the thought of getting hot with Kakashi filled him up with an unrecognizable feeling. Was he just nervous around the man? Or was it something else?

Kakashi leaned down and his mask lips touched Iruka's ear as he whispered, "Stop looking so scared of me. I'm your boyfriend, remember?"

Iruka didn't really hear what Kakashi said due to being overwhelmed by the feeling of Kakashi's warm breath and lips brushing his ear. He _had_ to be doing that on purpose.

A waitress led them to their booth and Iruka slid into the seat. As he was taking a deep breath for making it to the table with Kakashi's arm around him, a body slid in next to him. Iruka's mouth started to drop, but he controlled it. He looked from Kakashi, who was now sitting next to him, to across the booth where he was supposed to be.

The waitress asked what they wanted to drink, and Iruka stammered that he wanted tea while Kakashi said it more coherently. The waitress then left to get their drinks, giving Iruka a funny look before doing so.

"Dating, Iruka. Lovers like to sit next to each other, ne?" Kakashi said in a slightly teasing and amused voice, though his usual lazy tone was still there.

Iruka glared at Kakashi, and then a thought came across his mind.

_Fine, you want to tease me? Two can play at this game._

"Of course, how could I have forgotten?" Iruka smiled a smile that was very similar to Kakashi's "I'm-too-happy" smile, and he put his hand on the older mans thigh, squeezing it in what would be an affectionate way of a lover. He was very proud of his daringness.

Kakashi was obviously caught completely off guard. A very surprised expression crossed his face, and it was his turn for his mouth to drop.

The waitress came up to their table to put their tea in front of them. Meanwhile, Iruka's hand stayed where it was, and Kakashi was very aware of it.

"Are you ready to order?" The waitress asked in a happy voice. Kakashi shook his head slightly.

"Give us some more time." The waitress nodded and walked away, her stride bouncy and matching her bubbly personality.

Kakashi reached out to grab the menu from in front of him, trying to ignore Iruka. But as he did so, Iruka's hand purposefully and slowly moved up his thigh a tad bit, causing Kakashi's hand to jerk away from the menu, hitting the cup of tea and knocking it onto the floor.

The waitress, hearing the loud shatter, hurried to their table and fused over him.

"Oh dear! I'll get you another one honey!" As she went off to get the new cup of tea, a janitor came to pick up the broken cup and clean the mess.

"Can't play your own game, huh?" Iruka teased, grinning at the Jounin. He removed his hand.

Kakashi's single visible eye narrowed as he glared at the Chuunin.

"You don't want to make this a game, Iruka. I'll win. I always win," Kakashi warned, although the thought of this game was very appealing to him.

"It should be a close game then, since I always win as well." Iruka smiled mischievously.

"You're on."

Iruka grinned and picked up his cup of tea, sipping it with a look that said, "I'm the one who still has my tea."

Kakashi scowled and poked Iruka in his side so the Chuunin jerked slightly, spilling tea on the table. Iruka glared at him and resisted the urge to poke him back, using his napkin to clean up the mess.

"Ready to order now?" The waitress came out of nowhere and put Kakashi's new cup of tea in front of him. Both of them grabbed a menu, picking the first thing they saw that looked appetizing. The waitress then took their menus and happily walked off.

They sat there quietly, sipping at their tea and not acknowledging each other. After a few minutes, Kakashi noticed a group of loud ninjas who had recently walked in. His single, sharp eye followed them as they sat at a table not too far from them, and he leaned his chin on his hand, looking at a mark on the table like he was sleepy and zoning out of it. His ears, however, were perked.

Iruka noticed the group of ninjas as well, and he couldn't help but admire how quickly Kakashi snapped from his joking mood and into his nonchalant, mission one. Iruka was watching the elite Jounin, and it was then he became acutely aware of how attractive he found the other man. Was that why he got to him so easily?

Kakashi's attention became focused on the fact that he could feel an intelligent and speculating gaze on him. The Jounin listened for a few more minutes, trying to ignore the feeling of Iruka paying attention to him, and when he only heard the ninjas bragging about women they had slept with, Kakashi tilted his head in his hand to meet Iruka's gaze questioningly. The brown eyes held his grey one, and they both stared at each other like they were analyzing one another.

As Kakashi was about to open his mouth to speak, the waitress walked up to them with their food, putting the dishes in front of them. It was good timing, considering Kakashi was going to break the staring with a teasing remark since he was unsure of what exactly the situation was. While he didn't know what Iruka was thinking, he had seen something he hadn't seen before.

He mentally sighed and picked up his chopsticks to eat. Iruka had quickly looked away when the waitress approached them, and he only had a light flush across his cheeks. If anything, he looked as if he was still thinking about something.

Kakashi's mask was only lowered for about 3 seconds before his food was inhaled and his mask was back in place. Iruka had barely taken his first bite when he looked over at Kakashi. His mouth dropped, even though he should have been expecting it, and his half-chewed food almost dropped out of it.

"That really isn't safe, you know." Iruka reminded him once he recovered from the surprise, finishing the process of chewing his food and swallowing it.

"Maa, I'm a professional, don't worry about it."

Kakashi reached across Iruka's food to grab a packet of sugar, and Iruka held his tongue from snapping at him for the rude gesture. As Iruka was about to put more food in his mouth, the hand reached across his food again to grab more sugar. Kakashi didn't need any more sugar, but he couldn't resist after seeing Iruka's eyebrow twitch the first time he did it.

"Excuse you," Iruka snapped.

Kakashi ignored him and acted like he couldn't decide which type of sugar he wanted. Iruka smacked his arm and Kakashi laughed, moving his arm back to his side of the table.

Iruka couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips at the childish behavior, and he took another bite of his food. Kakashi sat there patiently, drinking his tea, and finally Iruka finished. The older man paid for the food when the waitress brought the bill, and they both stood up to leave.

Kakashi's arm slid around Iruka's waist, holding the tanned body close to him as they walked. The way his arm held him was casual, yet sexily possessive. Iruka noticed the possessiveness, and he was surprised. He looked up at Kakashi as they walked, gaze questioning, but Kakashi didn't pay any attention to him or show anything to give himself away. Once out the door, Iruka started to shy away, but Kakashi held him firmly.

"Is it that bad?" He asked, his usual teasing tone absent and his lazy, uncaring one there instead.

Iruka was about to say something that implied it was, but when he thought about it, it really wasn't. The thought confused him, and he didn't like it. He tried to pull away again. This time Kakashi let him.

By the time they returned to the house it was late, so they took turns showering without really speaking to each other. There was an awkward tension between them due to Iruka's new, confused feelings, but Kakashi didn't understand what it was all about. He went into the bathroom first to shower while Iruka laid on the bed.

The Academy Sensei was wondering where they would be sleeping when the bathroom door opened. Steam came out of the small bathroom, and out walked the naked, steamy Jounin with a single towel wrapped around his waist, and a hand towel around his face.

Iruka couldn't stop his eyes from trailing down the Copy Ninja's body, and Kakashi most definitely noticed. His mismatched eyes narrowed as a feeling of lust rushed over him, as well as surprise. Iruka was _checking him out._ And big time. After standing there for a few seconds while Iruka examined him, he spoke.

"See something you like?" The Jounin asked, a barely noticeable husky tone to his voice.

Iruka's gaze moved to the mismatched pair of eyes. He had never looked into both of his eyes before, and he was surprised to see how they looked almost lustful. But he pushed that thought away; Kakashi was just teasing him. Still, he couldn't help but notice how sexy the mismatched eyes were.

_Stop it! He doesn't like you like that. It's a game to him._

"Yeah, a hot shower," Iruka finally said, getting off of the bed and passing by Kakashi to go into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Kakashi resisted grabbing the tanned arm as it passed him, wanting to pin it to the wall above a certain Chuunin's head. If Kakashi saw Iruka come out, he knew it was highly possible he might do something he would regret.

He pulled on a pair of pajama pants with his black mask, then grabbed a blanket and pillow from the closet and took it to the living room couch. No bed for him tonight.

* * *

**A/N:** Yayy, it's finally up! I enjoyed spending my day relaxing and writing this chapter instead of stressing over homework and studying (which is how I usually spend my days). Let me know what you think! If you have any requests, just let me know! I'm open to some ideas. :)


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